The Calamitas Experiment
by Grem333
Summary: Gera is a shy, first-year student at Hogwarts, but she has to carry a terrible burden that causes her to be shunned from the other students. Will she ever fit in?
1. Chapter 1

**Disclaimer: I don't own any of the characters from the book, or the school, or anything that has to do with J.K. Rowling's books. I DO own Gera, Calvin, Calamiti, and some other characters that will appear later on. _Italics_ mean Gera's thoughts, btw.**

**Chapter 1**

Gera slumped against the wall of the crowded train. _This is it. I'm finally going to the school of my dreams._ She picked herself up and started walking down the long corridor, looking for an empty room. She passed by a group of preppy teenage girls. They stopped their gossiping and stared at her. Gera fixed her long, black hair so that it hid a part of her face. She looked at the floor as she passed by the girls who were undoubtedly popular than her. When she was supposedly far enough away, she heard them whispering and snickering. _About me, probably._

When she finally found an empty room, she felt all tension flow away. She sat down and relaxed as the train going to Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry started to pull out of the station. She looked out of the small window, now pattered with rain, and stared back at her faint reflection in disgust. Her eyes, which were almost as black as her pupils, glared back at her. Her pale lips and the thin, black hair common for her race, she was nowhere near attractive.

She sighed as she fumbled with her carry-on bag for her wand. _Oh no! Not today. This can't be happening on my first day of the best years of my life. Where's my wand!_ Her eye's widened as realization dawned upon her. She had left her wand in her room at home!

Tears swelled up in her eyes. _Why do I have to be me? Why couldn't I have been born normal like other witches?_

She quickly washed away her tears as she heard footsteps approaching her door._ Just my luck, not that I have any…_

The door slid open revealing a skinny, redhead boy that was fumbling with his glasses. "Um, excuse me, but is this seat taken?" he asked in a small voice.

She looked at the ground. Obviously the boy hadn't seen her eyes. She didn't say anything. The boy would leave after he noticed Gera was a Calamitas. Instead, the boy shrugged and sat down on the seat opposite to Gera.

"Hi! My name's Calvin. What's yours?" he asked politely.

_He's probably just trying to start a conversation. Maybe if I look at him he'd go away._ She forced her intimidating gaze onto him. The boy flinched, but asked for her name again. _Maybe he just feels sorry for me… _"Gera. My name's Gera," she muttered.

"Are you a first year, too?" he asked, smiling.

Gera nodded, and then looked out the window at her reflection. Anything was better than talking with Calvin. He probably noticed she wasn't interested in talking, because he took out a weird device and started pressing things.

Gera couldn't resist asking what the sleek, silver device was.

Calvin looked surprised, whether it was because she was talking to him or because she didn't know what he was holding. "This thing? It's a Nintendo DS. You play games on it," he said slowly. "You've never heard of one?"

"I wouldn't know about muggle toys. I'm a pure blooded Cala…" she trailed off.

"A what?" Calvin had to ask.

She sighed. "A Calamitas…" she mumbled, preparing herself for when Calvin would storm out of the room in fear. As much as she hated to admit it, she sort of liked Calvin's company.

"Huh?"

Gera's head snapped up. _He doesn't know what I am!_ "I'm a Calamitas. You've never heard of one?" she asked.

"No…"he said slowly, "I'm a half-blood. Both my parents don't have mag… I mean they're both muggles. I got my magic from my grandmother on my father's side. Boy was my mother surprised when she realized she married someone with a magical background!" Calvin snorted.

"Good…" Gera murmured.

"Um, what's a Calamitas?" he asked. "I was just… wondering, because I don't really know much about magical things. Actually, I know nothing," he said really fast.

Gera couldn't help but smile. "A Calamitas is the race that I am. We normally have black hair and pale skin, like me, but every one of us has eyes as dark as the night. I'm surprised you don't find me intimidating."

"Is that it?" Calvin looked as though Christmas had been canceled. "There's got to be more to it than that!"

_I should tell him… Before he finds out the hard way._ "Calamiti are…Well, bad luck is attracted to us. We often experience extremely bad misfortunes. We… we bring bad luck and it affects the people around us."

"Oh. I can see why you wanted me to leave…" Calvin said gloomily.

**Short chapter, I know. I hope you like! (By the way, Calamiti is plural to Calamitas coughcoughLatincoughcough) Please R&R! **


	2. Chapter 2

**Disclaimer: I don't own Harry Potter... Please R&R!**

**Chapter 2**

Gera awoke from her slumber with a quick shake from Calvin. He already had his wizard robes on. _Oh no! I'm going to be late again._ Gera ranked her black robe out from her bag and hastily threw it on over her denim jeans and white t-shirt.

She looked over at Calvin. He was eating a chocolate frog. "When did you get those?" she asked.

He shrugged. "The candy cart came by while you were sleeping. I didn't want to wake you up." Gera frowned. "You can have some of mine if you want."

Gera shook her head. "When are we going to arrive at Hogwarts?" she asked as she gathered her few possessions.

Calvin grinned nervously. "In a few minutes. If you look out the window, you can see it."

Gera's eyes were glued to the approaching castle. The dark, stone building towered over the Forbidden Forest. The only light was emitted from dancing balls floating above the forest that seemed to glow in the dark. Gera gasped. _If witches can do that, I can't wait to be one!_

Calvin, too, was staring plainly at their new home in awe. _He probably hasn't seen anything like this, either, if he's a muggle-born._

A faint knock at their door released them from their trance. An old woman's plump head peeked in. "We are pulling into Hogwarts now, so please gather your things and report to the front of the train," she said, blowing back a stray grey hair. Then, she left them to warn others.

"This is it…" Calvin said.

Gera smiled grimly. _Time to meet the classmates that will make my life hell…_

Excited students had already started filing off the train. "We'd better go," Calvin said softly. He adjusted his glasses and headed out the door.

Outside the train, she was greeted by a large, burly man that had a fuzzy, brown beard. He looked like a giant!

"'Ello, everyone!" he greeted in a deep voice that went well with his height, "Welcome ta 'Ogwarts! First 'ears over here! Follow me!" he called.

Gera looked at him with awe. _That has got to be the largest man I've ever seen!_ Her fellow first years must've felt that way, too. Calvin was washing out the lens of his glasses and blinking rapidly.

"He has _got_ to be an illusion of some sort," he mumbled to himself.

The large man led them down a hill surrounded by trees that flowed in a non-existent wind. The very air itself felt enchanted. The short hike was quiet; the first-years were too busy looking at their surroundings in amazement. The silence was only interrupted by the occasional gasp or yelp of someone who had tripped on a stray rock.

Gera was thankful that the darkness concealed her heritage. She could barely see where she was going! She looked behind her to see if Calvin was having the same problem. He was squinting at the path ahead of him. _Maybe he will be my first real friend…_

SLAM!

Gera looked up at the pitch black sky. Somehow she'd fallen to the ground.

"Are you alright?" asked a very concerned Calvin. Several others had gathered around her, watching warily.

"What happened?" Gera croaked.

"You ran into a tree. You just walked right off the path!" an over-looker exclaimed. To Gera's dismay, everyone but Calvin started laughing.

_No! I will not start to cry!_ Gera sniffed and shakily got up with help from Calvin.

"Well, now. What do we 'ave 'ere?" the giant man asked. The on-lookers scattered.

The man offered her a hairy, over-sized hand. "My name's Hagrid. Are you alright? You oughta pay more attention to what's in front o' you."

Gera forced a grin. "I'm fine," she mumbled. _Just the most embarrassed I've ever been in my life!_

Hagrid winked at her and continued walking down the trail. Gera had to run to catch up to everybody. They stopped at the edge of a wide, shimmering lake that had a magical quality to it.

"I heard that during the Triwizard Tournament, Harry Potter swam into this lake and met merfolk!" Gera heard someone gossiping. She turned around and saw some of the girls she saw on the train. The brown-haired one that was talking noticed Gera's stare. "I see we have a visitor, girls," she said smugly, crossing her arms. Her friends followed in suit. _She seems to be the leader of her little posse. I better stay away from her!_

Gera turned and was going to walk back toward Calvin, but the leader of the girls stopped her with a tough grip on her arm. "Stay away from us, freak. I don't want you tainting Hogwart's halls," she whispered savagely. Her posse backed her up. "If I, Merra Jones, hear about you cursing the halls, you'll be sorry!" she finished.

Gera gulped and tried to hide her fear. These were girls who no doubt had more experience with magic than her. Gera yanked her arm back and got in line for a boat as far away from the mean girls as possible.

She ended up in a boat with Calvin, two other boys, and two girls she didn't know. One of the girls was a Hogwarts veteran. All but Calvin pretended she wasn't there. Gera sighed and stared out into the lake. The motion of the clear waves put her in a small trance.

When the small boat was floating in the middle of the lake, Gera was aware of a handful of eyes on her. She turned to find all the boat's occupants were staring at her in fear. _What?_ She looked down. To her dismay, the small canoe was leaking water. The older girl stood up fast to call a warning, and the whole boat tipped over, depositing the students into the cold, September water.

Calvin started screaming, "Something has my foot! Something slimy has my foot!" Soon, all of them, including Gera, were being held by something that felt slippery, like a dolphin's skin.

Hagrid's boat jetted over. "I see ya got yerself into a bit 'o trouble!" he joked, pulling out a torn umbrella from one of his many coat pockets. "**Movido discipuli**," he chanted while waving the umbrella.

Gera felt tingly all over. It relaxed her in a strange way, so she shut her eyes. When she opened them, she and the other unfortunate students were on the far shore, wet and shivering. Gloomy, they sat on rocks waiting for the rest of boats to arrive.

When all the students had joined them, Hagrid dried them off, and then they all boarded strange, floating carriages. The strangers who shared her carriage sat as far from her as possible. Gera sighed for probably the hundredth time since she arrived at Hogwarts. _Coming here was a bad idea. First I forget my wand, then I sink a boat, and now I probably have lost the only person who might have accepted me… _

If the school looked gigantic to Gera on the train, it was even bigger up close. She had read somewhere that the walls on the outside of Hogwarts were spelled to prevent weathering. The spell was doing a pretty good job! Even in the dark, she could see that the intricate carvings weren't dulled by intense weather or sunlight. Hagrid led them right up to the front doors of the school where a tall, old woman with frizzy red hair stood impatiently.

She made the first-years line up in front of her, and then she marched by each student peering down at them from her nose. As she passed Gera, she whispered, "Meet Professor Dumbledore after the Great Hall dinner."

Gera was about to reply, but the professor had already started leading them to the Great Hall. _There is a lot of 'leading' involved to get into Hogwarts!_

The Great Hall was the most magnificent, crowded room Gera had ever seen. The ceiling changed colors in sync with the sky; right now, the enchanted ceiling was a dark shade of blue, and the same light balls that were outside were floating around the top of the ceiling. The hall was filled with four tables that were crammed with students. The end of the hall featured a large table in which the professors sat.

The red-headed professor said, "Stay here. Come up to the front when your name is called and put on the hat. It will announce what House you will be put in. Go to your House. The prefects will help you from there." Then, the professor walked back to the teachers. They greeted her with smiles.

One teacher seemed to look just at her with his dark gaze. His black, oily hair was pulled back in a small ponytail He sneered, and Gera shivered. _That professor creeps me out! _

Everyone was silent as Dumbledore stood up. When he spoke, his voice was magically amplified so every ear in the room could hear him. "Welcome to another year at Hogwarts!" he exclaimed, then paused for cheers. He continued, "Our new first-years will be sorted into Houses by the sorting hat." He pointed at a fading, gangly hat on a stool at the front of the teacher's table. After the odd hat sang a song, Dumbledore started calling names.

When "Foland, Calvin" was announced, Gera watched with suppressed glee as a sweating Calvin was sorted into Hufflepuff.

"Sarken, Gera," Dumbledore said at last. Everyone was quiet as she walked to the front of the room. Most people looked at her with wide eyes. _They're afraid of me! These wizards and witches are actually afraid of me!_

She closed her eyes as she put on the worn hat. _This is it. This hat will decide how I spend the next seven years. I hope it knows what it's doing!_ She gulped as the over-sized hat covered her eyes and started speaking to her.

**Kind of a cliffhanger... I hope you like it so far, because it's my first ever HP fanfic. Again, please R&R!**


End file.
